The disclosure relates to electrosurgical probes and associated apparatus. More specifically, the disclosure relates to electrosurgical probes and cementoplasty apparatus, and methods of use thereof.
Current clinical practice includes limited abilities in predicting ablation volumes in ablation procedures. Ablation procedures can be performed using, among other things, radiofrequency (RP) or microwave radiation. In the case of combined ablation and cement injection procedures (cementoplasty), there are currently no significant abilities for demonstrating that the volume of tissue affected by the cement injection can be linked to the volume of tissue affected by the ablation.
In these cases, it would be ideal to predictably measure the volume of tissue to be ablated by the probe, and the volume of tissue intended to be affected by the cementoplasty. For example, if one were to perform ablation prior to cementoplasty, which may include balloon kyphoplasty (BKP) or vertebroplasty (VP), it would be preferable to ablate the entire volume of tissue as well as an extra “safety margin” that would be displaced by the cementoplasty procedure. This would have the benefit of ensuring that live tumor cells are not displaced and thus capable of creating a new tumor site.
Additionally, if a common introducer is used for the ablation probe and vertebtroplasty system, then it would be ideal for the length of the probe, introducer, and BKP system to cooperate such that the introducer need not be repositioned to have the desired effect.
Finally, ablation volumes cannot be imaged using conventional imaging techniques typically used in these types of procedures. Thus, having a means to identify the expectant lesion volume, and providing this information to the physician, allows for appropriate procedural decision making.